Protective garments for firefighters and emergency workers include coats, trousers, overalls, and coveralls. Current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards include the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971 standard for “Protective Clothing for Structural Fire Fighting”, hereinafter NFPA 1971. NFPA 1971 requires protective clothing to have an outer shell meeting certain standards for heat resistance, flame, resistance, and tear strength. NFPA 1971 requires all layers of protective clothing to meet certain standards for thermal protection performance. NFPA 1971 requires the outer shell of said clothing to have reflective trim, which enhances the visibility of the protective garment and, therefore, the visibility of its wearer under smoke-laden and other adverse conditions. Generally, reflective trim is affixed by sewing, adhesively, or otherwise.
However, for a military or paramilitary firefighter or emergency worker operating where a tactical operation has developed or is expected to develop, a need for low visibility may override a need for high visibility. Heretofore, a military or paramilitary firefighter or emergency worker may have to be issued two types of protective garments, i.e., protective garments to be worn in a tactical operation, in which the need for low visibility overrides the need for high visibility, and protective garments to be worn otherwise.
The discussion of NFPA 1971 in the Background of the Invention in U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,865 is incorporated herein by reference.